


Easy As Pie

by smore13



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Banter, Denial of Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Greta Gerwig Eat Your Heart Out, I Just Gave Hyuck My SoCal Feelings, Just a Bunch of Hot Boys Tangled in Love, M/M, Minor Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, No Plot/Plotless, Non-Explicit, Slice of Life, This is My Love Letter to Sacramento, Underage Drinking, mentioned sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24419071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smore13/pseuds/smore13
Summary: “I love rhubarb - I didn’t even see it on the menu. And with ice cream?” Johnny put a hand over his chest dramatically, setting the pie down on the table with the other, “Perfection! Sweet and sour is my jam.”“Is that why you like me?” Donghyuck asked instinctively, in a tone that sounded suspiciously flirty. He instantly,instantlyregretted it though. He said dumb shit like that to Taeil and his friends so much it was basically second nature. Donghyuck was full of himself - it was his whole bit. But Johnny... flirtatious, forward, insufferable tease Johnny, would always run with it. He could never just let Donghyuck have his bit, not when it came to feelings anyway.He could already see the knowing smile forming as Johnny turned to look at him fully.“Anyway, enjoy your damn pie, I have to go finish up,” Donghyuck spat out in a rush before the man could respond, turning to make his way back inside. He caught the beginnings of a smirk as he turned away but thankfully, Johnny let him go without comment. He wasnotpaid enough to deal with this on the clock.or, alternatively, Hyuck loves Taeil, Taeil loves Johnny, and Johnny loves Hyuck. Hijinks ensue.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Moon Taeil, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 65
Kudos: 299
Collections: NCT OT3 Mood Board Fic Fest





	Easy As Pie

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this in February (on Johnny's birthday to be precise :D). I... I feel ashamed for what I have to show for all that time lol, considering there are 17k words without a plot in sight~  
> It's fine, it's totally fine. It's just some fun, self-indulgent fluff about silly boys awkwardly in love.
> 
> Mood board #58 for NCT OT3 Fic Fest.  
> [mood](https://twitter.com/sterff1face/status/1265892595521052672?s=20)
> 
> Ngl, I had a certain johnhyuck scene in mind from their Japan variety show appearance, and I wanted something for johnhyuckeil to do together after I saw a bunch of cute johneil edits on the tweet. This mood board almost immediately made me think of Apple Hill near my hometown and I thought, boom. There it is.  
> Greta Gerwig made setting shit in Sacramento cool, right? Lol I hope so.  
> I reference a lot of specific places in Sac but not in a way that hinders understanding so hopefully y'all will just roll with it!
> 
> Anyway, enough blabbering. Please enjoy~

“Good afternoon, what can I get for you today?” Donghyuck recited keeping his eyes purposely trained on the register so he wouldn’t accidentally make eye contact with the person standing behind (looming over, more like) the customer before him.

In his peripherals, he saw the woman bend down to wrestle with a squirming toddler in one hand, while holding onto the handle of an enormous stroller with the other.

“Um, yeah, can I get two of the apple fritters, a slice of plain pumpkin pie, and a slice of the apple blueberry with ice cream?” she asked, still folded essentially in half - only her shoulders were visible above the counter.

“I’m afraid we only sell the regular pumpkin as a whole pie,” he chanted politely, ringing up the rest of her order. “We do have apple pumpkin by the slice, if you’d like.”

The woman straightened up and Donghyuck turned his face _just_ enough that he could see her pursing her lips, looking over the menu above his head like she was deciding. He couldn’t tell if she was contemplating whether she wanted to bitch at him, or if she was merely looking for an order replacement. He sincerely hoped it wasn’t the former.

“Do you have apple doughnuts here?” she asked finally, eyes still on the menu. And even though apple doughnuts were very clearly not listed there, Donghyuck only smiled politely once more.

“We do not,” he said carefully, offering no further explanation.

“Bummer. Do you happen to know which of the farms sell them? I realize it’s not your job to know,” she said, finally meeting his gaze. It was indeed not his job to know. But here she was, asking anyway. Ah whatever, he knew the answer. And at least she wasn’t being a dick about it.

“I believe High Hill Ranch sells them. And maybe Rainbow Orchards,” he replied evenly, resting his hand on the counter as he waited. “I’d double check that one, though.”

“Ugh, we were already at High Hill this morning,” she complained mildly, with a shake of her head. Then she smiled. “We might just have to swing by Rainbow Orchards later on, then. Anyway, the apple pumpkin is fine - let’s go with that instead. Just the slice.”

Donghyuck punched in the rest of her order, reading it back to her again to double check before rattling off the total. He quickly swiped her card before handing it back, along with the receipt.

“Here’s your number,” he recited, pointing at the top of the slip before indicating the next window over, “They’ll call your order from here when it’s ready.”

He watched as she gathered her various children and child-moving contraptions before slowly making her way outside to the seating area.

Donghyuck watched her go for longer than he otherwise might have as he steeled himself to greet his next ‘customer’.

The man had already approached the counter, leaning heavily on his forearm which brought him into much closer proximity than Donghyuck typically preferred with customers. However, considering this one in particular happened to be an offensively gorgeous, obnoxiously tall, 20-something tank of a man (and especially one who wasn’t a redneck white boy - something of a rarity in these parts) Donghyuck would usually be all but thrilled by this little intrusion into his personal space. He did _not_ get many hot customers.

However, since it was Johnny, he had mixed feelings on the matter.

“Hey Hyuck,” Johnny greeted with a grin. “Just gonna stand there, or you gonna take my order? I want to hear your customer service voice again.”

Donghyuck scowled. Johnny was the only person in line at the moment (usually mid afternoon on a Saturday would be their just-kill-me-now rush but the season hadn’t officially started, only about 75% of the farms were open for business, and the weather had taken a return to scorching this week, which inspired trips to the lake rather than hot apple cider and pie), so he wasn’t too worried about appearances.

“I’ll get Taeil,” he said with a sniff, in place of a greeting. He turned to head into the back, but was immediately stopped by a firm hand on his arm.

“Come on, you’re always trying to get rid of me so fast,” Johnny complained, still smiling widely. “I have money! I’m a customer. Besides, I see Taeil all the time - I saw him earlier this morning! I didn’t just come to see him. Aren’t we friends, Hyuck?”

They were… very nearly friends.

The fact that they were only very nearly friends was entirely Donghyuck’s doing but at the moment it was an awkward purgatory he was comfortable floating in.

Johnny, on the other hand, did not seem to agree.

“Yeah, we’re friends,” Donghyuck murmured, eying the customer who had returned to the pick-up window for her order. He sighed.

“Welcome to Alabaster Acres, may I take your order?” he asked, in his best impression of his cheerfully dead inside customer voice. Johnny, for his part, seemed delighted.

“What do you recommend?” he asked, as if in deep consideration. His hand was still resting lightly on Donghyuck’s forearm and he briefly considered pulling away. But he knew that Johnny was just a touchy feely person and hell, Donghyuck was too - he couldn’t really hold it against him. So he let it be, bringing his free hand to tap his chin thoughtfully.

“I’ve definitely heard good things about the pie,” he supplied unhelpfully.

“Which pie, you dork?” Johnny asked, huffing out a laugh.

“Sir, I’m not a mind reader. I don’t magically know all your various tastes and preferences,” Donghyuck replied in the tone he used with difficult customers. That was a lie, of course. He knew Johnny well enough by now. He was pretty sure a slice of rhubarb with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and he would be in heaven. But he wasn’t about to admit that.

Johnny only laughed again, tapping his fingers over Donghyuck’s arm thoughtfully.

“Maybe you can help me decide on the quantity, then,” he reasoned, eyes gleaming with amusement. “I’m mostly only ordering pie for something to do while I wait. So how much longer til you guys are off the clock? How many slices of pie am I gonna have to wait exactly?”

Donghyuck hummed thoughtfully, fiddling with one of the buttons on Johnny’s (entirely unnecessary - Hyuck was practically sweating in short sleeves) jean jacket.

“Well, I’ll be done in approximately one piece of pie,” he offered, doggedly ignoring the way Johnny perked up happily at his playing along. “I think Taeil will be closer to two slices. However, since I will be joining you and therefore taking over the herculean task of keeping your ass entertained, I think you can settle for one-”

“Leave it to the English major to pepper the word ‘herculean’ into casual conversation,” Johnny interrupted, sounding outrageously fond. Donghyuck dutifully ignored him.

“-plus may I remind you that you will probably want to leave room for garlic fries,” he continued, nodding his head in the general direction of the snack bar that sold actual food (as opposed to the bakery where he worked, which only dabbled in dessert). Johnny groaned at that mere notion.

“Ugh shit yeah, how could I forget?” he said, shaking his head. “Good call, good call. In that case- wait, are you really not going to help me decide what to order?”

“Do you really trust me not to lead you astray?” Donghyuck pointed out innocently, fluttering his eyelashes. Johnny gazed down at him thoughtfully, rubbing his thumb mindlessly over the other boy’s arm.

“How about this,” he offered after a moment, a non-answer that was still technically an answer, “you charge me for the slice of pie you think I deserve. Surprise me. But just know, if you purposely sabotage me, I am _not_ afraid to make a scene in front of these white families. I mean it - a whole ass tantrum. I’ll cry.”

Donghyuck couldn’t hold back a delighted laugh at the idea.

“Is that supposed to be a threat?” he asked, trying and failing to sound dismissive.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Johnny reasoned with a wide grin, handing over his card. Donghyuck rolled his eyes, but accepted it.

He rang him up for a slice of rhubarb and ice cream, then immediately took half off with his employee discount. He returned the card, but not the receipt - crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash behind him. When he turned back Johnny was eying him skeptically, eyebrow raised.

“You said you wanted to be surprised. You wanna ruin it or what?” Donghyuck sniped, folding his arms over his chest. Johnny remained unconvinced, continuing to gaze down at him in accusatory silence.

Donghyuck let this go on for a moment before sighing in exasperation.

"Go find a seat you big bitch," he insisted, leaning forward to shove him off the counter with both hands. "I'll bring it out to you when it's ready."

For a moment Johnny merely stood there, demonstrating how incredibly easy it was for him not to be moved by Hyuck's intense effort (something that did not excite him in any way) before finally relenting. 

"Fine. It better be something good," Johnny conceded, reaching over to ruffle Donghyuck's hair affectionately, laughing when the other boy tsked in annoyance. 

Finally he wandered off and Donghyuck huffed to himself before turning to prepare his order. 

The girl who was taking over for the next shift - Sarah - had been filling orders when there was a line but had disappeared into the back once it was clear that Johnny was the only person needing attention. This made it very easy for him to cut an unusually large slice of rhubarb pie and plop down an extra scoop of ice cream onto a disposable plate, grabbing a spoon before walking it around past the front of the counter, through the store, and out to the large patio full of tables where customers could sit and eat.

Johnny was reclining comfortably at the table nearest the door, freakishly long legs spread out before him. He had his sunglasses on and his jean jacket off, looking just as much like a Target model as Donghyuck had ever seen him (even though he knew for a fact that Johnny’s fashion-snobbish ass had spent at least double for the outfit at somewhere like Express. The man would probably die without outlet shopping).

Seeing him, Johnny perked up, swinging one leg over until he was straddling the bench, reaching out for the plate as he approached. Donghyuck chose not to acknowledge the way his arms and chest shifted under his exceedingly tight t-shirt, merely focusing on his own reflection in Johnny’s (oh god, were those Ray Bans?) glasses.

“Oooh, is this rhubarb?” Johnny asked with an expression of adorable surprise. Donghyuck could imagine his eyes widening too, though he couldn’t actually see them. “I love rhubarb - I didn’t even see it on the menu. And with ice cream?” Johnny put a hand over his chest dramatically, setting the pie down on the table with the other, “Perfection! Sweet and sour is my jam.”

“Is that why you like me?” Donghyuck asked instinctively, in a tone that sounded suspiciously flirty. He instantly, _instantly_ regretted it though. He said dumb shit like that to Taeil and his friends so much it was basically second nature. Donghyuck was full of himself - it was his whole bit. But Johnny... flirtatious, forward, insufferable tease Johnny, would always run with it. He could never just let Donghyuck have his bit, not when it came to feelings anyway.

He could already see the knowing smile forming as Johnny turned to look at him fully.

“Anyway, enjoy your damn pie, I have to go finish up,” Donghyuck spat out in a rush before the man could respond, turning to make his way back inside. He caught the beginnings of a smirk as he turned away but thankfully, Johnny let him go without comment.

He returned to the bakery, heading straight for the back room where Taeil had been holed up for over an hour now. Upon hearing the door open, the other man looked up, smiling brightly when he realized it was Donghyuck. His heart still fluttered slightly at being on the receiving end of such enthusiasm.

“Johnny’s here,” he announced, attempting to keep his tone even. Taeil perked up further.

“Great. Let him know I’ll be done in about half an hour,” he replied, setting his pen down and turning to face Donghyuck fully.

“Already did. I’m off in 15. I’ll clean up and make sure Sarah’s all set up front,” he replied easily, shooting his manager a friendly grin.

“Alright. Don’t bother waiting - once you’re done with everything just clock out,” Taeil said, still grinning, turning back to his desk. Donghyuck gave him a mock salute.

“Sure thing, boss,” he said, before promptly backing out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

He found Sarah in the ingredients freezer, giving her a heads up that he was about to take off. He checked over his register, tidying up the prep area, made sure all of the dry ingredients were properly closed and stored, etc etc before he finally clocked out.

He placed his apron carefully on the designated hanger, standing there for another moment trying to think of anything more he could do to delay returning to Johnny. When he could not, he paused before the full length mirror, looking himself over carefully. He fixed his hair and straightened out his clothes, turning his head one way and then the other, turning to check how his butt looked in his jeans (excellent, of course), before finally nodding to himself, satisfied. He wandered back out, through the kitchen, past the counter (offering Sarah an obligatory nod), and back out to the patio.

Johnny was still lounging comfortably on the bench, one leg on each side, leaning his head on one hand while he ate his pie with the other.

He spotted Donghyuck instantly, waving his spoon at him with a lazy smile. Donghyuck returned the wave but made a beeline for the patio snack bar. There were only two people in line so he popped his head through the pick up window, greeting the guys who were working before asking for an order of garlic fries.

They greeted him warmly, okaying the order.

He grinned, waving himself off before returning to the table and Johnny.

“I guess I took less than a piece,” he said, straddling the bench in front of Johnny, mirroring his pose. “Or maybe you just eat slow.”

“Hey, the pie is gone,” Johnny pointed out defensively, indicating his plate with his spoon. “Plus I think you rushed just to trip me up.”

“You still have all that ice cream though,” Donghyuck pointed out, dipping a finger into a bit of it before licking it off. Johnny gave him a look - either for sticking his finger in his food, or due to the accusation, he wasn’t quite sure.

“We keep time in pie, not ice cream,” Johnny pointed out with a sniff. “Besides, since when is it my fault you’re out here sneaking me extra scoops?

“I did no such thing,” Donghyuck claimed breezily, leaning his chin heavily on his hand. Johnny pushed his sunglasses up until they were resting atop his head so that he could give him a properly judgmental look.

“I don’t see anybody else with two scoops,” he pointed out, expression turning satisfied as he watched the other boy look around for confirmation.

Donghyuck didn’t reply - obviously he already knew he’d given Johnny special treatment but he didn’t need it like… _pointed out_ like that. Johnny was too observant for his own good.

It’s one of the things Donghyuck (probably) couldn’t stand about him.

Perhaps due to the lack of response or perhaps just because he was easily distracted, Johnny glanced over at him curiously.

“Hey what’d you do with your cute apron?” he asked, looking Donghyuck over, effectively changing the subject.

“I’m off work. You think I’m gonna walk around in my uniform apron all day?” he snorted, with a bit more vehemence than he typically might.

“Why not?” Johnny teased. “You look good in red.”

“I look good in anything,” Donghyuck shot back. Johnny grinned widely at this, but then seemed to remember something.

“Ah!” he cried, taking an unreasonably big bite of ice cream, leaving the spoon in his mouth as he reached to pull his phone out of his pocket. “Speaking of aprons, look at this.”

He pulled the spoon out of his mouth, setting it on his plate as he quickly scrolled through his pictures.

“I had someone take this for me outside,” he said, turning his phone to show Donghyuck. It was Johnny in his sunglasses and jacket standing between the two white bears wearing red Alabaster Acres aprons that guarded the entrance of the store. He had his arms around both of them, cheesing big time with a goofy grin.

“Cute,” Donghyuck allowed, looking it over. “Are those your biological children? They look just like you.”

Johnny only laughed at this, taking another bite of ice cream.

Donghyuck had once come upon Johnny and Taeil sitting together in the grass on campus, and had decided that Johnny sat like a bear. The other man had argued against it, which was all the incentive Donghyuck needed to never let the comparison drop. It had later backfired though, when Taeil had discovered them sitting together on the couch one day, snapped a picture, and declared them both his bear cubs. Donghyuck vehemently denied his own resemblance but had continued to use it against Johnny whenever the opportunity presented itself.

This was made slightly less satisfying due to the fact that Johnny was always a good sport about it. In fact, it was nearly impossible to offend Johnny - he’d definitely tried (and he was only slightly ashamed to admit that).

“I see a little of both of us in them,” Johnny teased back, right on cue, setting his phone down on the table. “We should have Taeil take a family photo of you, me, and the kids together later~”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes, glancing down as Johnny scooped up the last bite of his ice cream, bringing it up to his mouth.

Without thinking, Donghyuck leaned forward and opened his mouth with a small ‘aah’.

Johnny paused, ice cream already touching his lips, only to instantly hand the bite over without a second thought. His mouth was still open as he held up the spoonful for Donghyuck to take.

Realizing what he’d done, Donghyuck dropped his gaze, focusing intently on the spoon before him, leaning in to swallow the ice cream down as quickly and subtly as possible.

Now it should be made clear that subtlety was not normally a part of Donghyuck’s vocabulary.

In any other situation, it would have been perfectly natural to turn it into a spectacle - whether it be fake flirting to mess with his friends, or real flirting with just about anyone else, Donghyuck would have usually grabbed ahold of the person’s hand, gazed into their eyes, lick the ice cream down slowly - even if just to be gross.

But it was Johnny and… why did things always have to be so complicated with Johnny?

“Thanks,” he muttered, sparing a glance at the man in question only to see that he still had a dot of cream on his upper lip. And just like the world’s biggest cliche, the first thing Donghyuck imagined was leaning over and kissing it off.

“Hyuck! Your order!” the loud cry from the snack bar pick-up window (thankfully) startled him out of that ridiculous thought. He fought a scowl when he noticed Johnny gazing down at him inquisitively, reaching over to snatch a napkin from the dispenser on the table and slapping it lightly over Johnny’s mouth as he stood. The ice cream made it stick.

“You’re a mess,” he muttered dismissively as he turned to retrieve their free fries (best job perk in the world).

Donghyuck shouted his thanks to the crew, waving as he went to putter around the condiment table. He took a deep calming breath in through his nose, letting it slowly out through his mouth. Then he spent far too long filling up individual cups of each of the 5 available condiments (including relish) despite the fact that it was unlikely that either of them would be using even one. The garlic fries were perfect as is. That was the whole point.

No, he was merely stalling.

It was… tough spending time alone with Johnny. Originally, he avoided being alone with Johnny because of the way he always felt so awkward - they didn’t have much in common (or so he’d assumed), they didn’t have any mutual friends besides Taeil. But now it was difficult for other reasons. Annoying reasons. Annoyingly dangerous reasons. 

He popped one of the fries into his mouth, savoring, before happily noting that at least now he wouldn’t have to worry about wanting to kiss anyone for a while.

When he finally moseyed back he was met by the sight of Johnny with his hands folded, resting on the bench between his legs, shoulders hunched forward, looking around idly - appearing for all the world like the giant grizzly bear he secretly was. Donghyuck bit back a victorious grin, quickly making his way over, setting their tray down on the table in between them.

“Okay,” he said, picking through to find the fry with the perfect garlic to crispiness ratio before holding it out for Johnny. “Open up for the airplane~”

Johnny obeyed easily, but Donghyuck didn’t miss the way he eyed him as he chewed, wearing his signature secret smile.

Donghyuck had always hated that smile - he remembered seeing it the very first time they met and it never failed to make him feel some type of way.

“What’s that look for, garlic breath?” Hyuck asked accusingly. Johnny only shook his head, smiling wider.

“Thanks for the fry,” was all he said, watching as Donghyuck fished out one of his own, still smiling as he watched him eat it.

Donghyuck tried not to sigh.

Things could never just be simple with Johnny, could they?

But he supposed it was difficult to have a simple, straightforward relationship with the live-in sort of boyfriend of your own sort of boyfriend.

Or whatever.

*

Maybe this called for a bit of backstory…

It all started, as most great love stories do, because Donghyuck’s ass was broke.

Sure he worked part time as a cashier in the Bookstore at Sac State but he was a man of fine taste, and the salary of a humble campus position was not nearly enough to support the lifestyle to which Donghyuck had grown accustomed. You know, when mom and dad were still paying his bills. Those were the days. 

Though admittedly, being broke in a shitty three bedroom apartment along with three of his friends in La Riviera next to the school was still loads better than staying in the respectable two story house in Placerville for a bunch of reasons. Placerville is where his parents had very abruptly (in his opinion, rather rudely) moved himself and his three younger siblings the summer before his junior year of high school when his dad got a promotion and a transfer to the company’s Reno branch, where he commuted a few times a week. 

It had been hard enough going from growing up in a city with actual diversity to a dinky little whiter than white nothing hillbilly town that was little more than a piss-stop on the way to Tahoe or Reno... but then he also got the fun added bonus of deciding how to navigate his queerness in terms of essentially stepping back into the closet in the face of a very small, markedly more conservative high school for his last two years. So yeah, Placerville with money, or Sacramento without?

Sacramento obviously.

He’d just have to find more work, wouldn’t he?

He’d always taken odd jobs over the summer, starting after high school, but by spring of his second year of college, Donghyuck was tired of playing games. He had tried and failed to pick up another consistent campus job, so he’d taken to looking for a weekend gig where he could then work more hours over break. The problem was that half the student population of Sac State had the same idea. All of the restaurants, grocery stores, and the mall were already filled to the brim with students around his age and they weren’t looking to bring on any more.

It was his mom, actually, who found out about the gig at Alabaster Acres. It made sense though, if you took proximity into account. Donghyuck hadn't really been looking at postings east of Rancho Cordova and he certainly had no desire to take a job in Placerville proper but he'd forgotten about the little oasis known as Apple Hill. Even though it was an obnoxious commute, considering he wouldn't have to worry about going straight from school if he was working on the weekends, he wasn't too concerned. It would give him an excuse to drop in on his family more often, so he decided to apply for the bakery cashier opening at Alabaster Acres. 

And that’s where he met Taeil.

Bakery manager Taeil Moon, who had surprised Donghyuck by virtue of being another Korean American working in the hillbilly foothills who, like himself, didn’t have an ‘aMeRiCaN nAmE’. But also because he was like… ridiculously pretty.

Donghyuck had been struck from day one as Taeil led his training, happy that Hyuck already had plenty of register experience, being incredibly patient as he learned about everything food-handling related, and humoring him as he asked question after question of a not entirely work related nature.

Just that first day Donghyuck learned that Taeil was 6 years older than him, also spoke Korean fluently (he was born there, moved to the states in 4th grade), was currently in the middle of completing his masters in Counseling at Sac State (“I go to Sac State too! We’re practically classmates~”), had worked at the farm for two years, and had been made bakery manager three months prior.

He’d also managed to finagle Taeil's phone number before his first shift was done.

That wasn’t to say that he’d also managed to win the man over on day one.

Donghyuck may have fallen at first sight but even after weeks of enthusiastic pursuit, he was only getting mildly flattered confusion at best, and completely uninterested older brother vibes at worst. His resolve to win him over was stoked even more when - about a month and a half in - he was given definitive confirmation that Taeil was, in fact, legitimately queer (“I’ve been busy helping out with planning for Pride Week events at the school” “As like… an ally or…?” “Lol no”) and not just someone with suspiciously cuffed pants and excellent music taste.

Donghyuck was determined, you see. And he was used to getting what he wanted.

He believed it was sheer increasing exposure that helped spur things along. When he started working nearly full time during the summer, Donghyuck was now well-equipped to really begin to weasel his way into Taeil's heart. Alabaster Acres was one of only a handful of farms that was open all year round, but summer was their slow season so he and Taeil were basically the only bakery employees for three months straight. It had only taken Hyuck three weeks of full time schedule to wrangle Taeil into hanging out after work and only another four weeks after _that_ to confess his interest.

Taeil was understandably wary of this and at first Donghyuck just assumed it was because of the fact that he worked directly below him. He was never worried though. The fact that Taeil couldn’t bring himself to reject him was enough of an indication that he’d really managed to plant the seeds of affection. It was only a matter of time before he’d be able to call the older man his. That’s how these things worked. Donghyuck decided he wanted someone, they took an interest, then he got them. Easy as pie.

“I… I don’t think I can give you an answer now,” Taeil had responded at the time. They had been standing in the lobby of the movie theater near the mall. Taeil had made a big show of getting back in line for a refill of their large popcorn after the movie ended, even though they were literally planning on grabbing dinner right after. He’d gone on and on about what a waste of money movie theater snacks were and that if they had shelled out _nearly 10 fucking dollars_ on a bag of popcorn then they were sure as hell going to take them up on the ‘free’ refills, whether they would actually be able to finish it or not. All of this in Korean, of course, because Taeil was far too polite to complain loudly about prices and services right in front of the employees in English.

He’d listened in amusement, watching the older man pick through the bag idly, complaining that all the butter was on one side and the popcorn was cold and there were too many kernels and he just hadn’t been able to help himself. He’d scooped up one of Taeil’s hands in his own, locking eyes.

“ _Hyung, I’m into you and I think you like me too_ ,” he’d said, also in Korean. Taeil liked to speak Korean when it was just the two of them - Hyuck was one of the few people he had a chance to use it with regularly after moving away from his parents. “ _I’m chasing you with the intention of dating you if you’ll have me_.”

He hadn’t expected much to be honest. He was still pretty sure he was far more invested in Taeil than the man was in him. But he figured making his intentions clear would, if anything, at least ensure they were on the same page. If not, then it was better to find out early, right?

For his part, Taeil hadn’t seemed particularly surprised. He’d looked at him for a long moment before answering - expression caught halfway between tickled and bemused. An expression Hyuck was used to receiving by then.

When he finally answered, he appeared a little bashful and unsure. Well that wouldn’t do.

“I didn’t tell you to get an answer,” Hyuck had shrugged, smiling reassuringly. “ _I told you so that you’d know where I stood. I like you, hyung. I’ll like you whatever you feel_.”

He’d watched Taeil shift awkwardly from one foot to the other. He rolled his eyes.

“ _What’s with this atmosphere?_ ” he’d teased, reaching into the popcorn bag to retrieve a few pieces which he promptly deposited into the Taeil’s mouth. “ _Come on, let’s go get some real food_.”

The rest of the night was perfectly relaxed and normal - Hyuck made sure of it. It wasn’t until Taeil was dropping him back off at his apartment afterward that he got something like an answer.

“Donghyuck,” he’d said seriously. Taeil always called him by his full name - said it felt more natural. The fact that it felt special coming from him was always enough to make Hyuck swoon. “I do like you. A lot. Too much. But there’s something…”

“Is it because of work?” he’d asked, unbuckled in the passenger's seat, body turned to face him. “Honestly, it’s not like you’d ever do anything to take advantage of me but if you’re worried about what the bosses think we can definitely-”

“That’s not it,” Taeil interrupted, brushing his supposition aside as if it couldn’t matter any less. Donghyuck couldn’t help but grin. “It’s - you know the guy I live with? I’ve mentioned him a few times.”

Donghyuck’s smile faded slightly. Johnny. He certainly did remember because Taeil’s roommate Johnny was his secret one-sided rival. For one, Taeil had mentioned him _a lot_ more than a few times - they couldn’t go a whole day without Johnny’s name being brought up in some capacity. For another, Donghyuck considered him the only real competition for Taeil’s time and attention. At that point he already knew they had met during their undergrad at UC Davis and that they’d lived together for years already - first in Davis, then in East Sac near the school, where they currently resided. Hyuck had always kind of figured that was why they seemed to have so many routines and traditions between them that Taeil was unwilling to miss. They basically seemed like an old married couple at this point, which was all well and good, except when it was cutting into his potential Taeil time. Hyuck hadn’t met the man at that point - not that he had any interest. Plus Taeil had always seemed a little reluctant to have Donghyuck over when Johnny was home so they ended up spending most of their time together either out and about, or squished into Hyuck’s apartment with his three roommates. It had suited them well enough until now.

“Yeah, sure,” he replied hesitantly. “What about him?”

“We’re not just… he’s not just a friend. We’re kind of dating. No sorry, we are. We’re dating.”

Hyuck just looked at him for a beat. Huh. That would explain a lot. But wait… even as Taeil was telling him this, it didn’t sound like a rejection. Donghyuck took that to mean he still had a shot.

“That’s okay, I don’t mind a little competition,” he said, boldly. He wasn’t as confident as he sounded but this was a fake it til you make it situation and he was still expecting to get what he wanted.

“This isn’t a competition Donghyuck, that’s the problem,” Taeil said with a sigh but Hyuck saw the little affectionate smile fighting it’s way out of the corner of his mouth. “Johnny’s not going anywhere. We’ve been together since we were kids - since I was around your age.”

Okay now he was confused.

“So… you’re turning me down?” Hyuck clarified, rubbing up and down his arm awkwardly. Like he said, he wouldn’t be hurt either way but he was getting some mixed signals here and it was making him feel a little off balance.

“I’m- No, _I’m_ not,” Taeil replied after a moment. “Like I said - Johnny and I have been together since we were so young that we both felt we would have missed out on a lot of 20-something experiences if we’d only dated each other exclusively that whole time. We’re both comfortable dating other people.”

Donghyuck found himself nodding understandingly, even though he felt like he had completely lost hold of the conversation.

“So I like you a lot and I’d be very interested in seeing where things go between us,” Taeil continued, “but the choice is yours. You’re under no obligation to try going out with a guy who already has a boyfriend. You’re so young and pretty - you could date anyone you want and have their complete, undivided attention. In fact, I kind of expected you to lose interest in me before now, to be completely honest. I mean compared to you I’m so old and boring and-”

Donghyuck held up his hand to silence him, thinking.

He still had questions about what was going on but if there was one thing Hyuck was good at, it was cutting through the bullshit to get to the point.

And from the sound of it, the point was that Taeil liked him and that Donghyuck was allowed to pursue him.

“Taeil hyung,” he said seriously. They spoke Korean so often that it felt weird calling him just ‘Taeil’ even in English. “I want you. If you’re not turning me down, you’re stuck with me.”

The older man seemed like he was trying not to look too pleased with this development.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he confessed, leaning forward to tug at Donghyuck’s earlobe affectionately.

“It’s a deal then,” Hyuck replied coyly. “What do you say we kiss on it? I’ve been waiting 3 months, 1 week, and 6 days for the chance.”

Taeil nodded, neck and ears turning an adorable shade of pink at the confession. And just like that, Donghyuck had one hand on the center console and the other on Taeil’s cheek as their lips met. His lips were soft and the kiss was sweet and full of warmth. Eventually he propped his knee up, freeing his hand to fist Taeil’s shirt over his chest. He parted his lips invitingly, making a happy noise as Taeil slipped his tongue inside. He tasted kind of sweet, like the soda he had been drinking with dinner. Hyuck ran his hand over the man’s chest, before gripping his side firmly, pulling him closer.

Taeil made a breathless sound and went to reach for Donghyuck just as the younger boy pulled away. He was nothing if not a tease. He kept his men in line and kept them wanting more.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of opportunities from now on,” Hyuck promised, smirking into the final peck he left on the older man’s lips. Taeil looked put out and a little disheveled but he merely nodded with a half dazed expression like he couldn’t quite believe his luck.

Damn right.

“ _Thanks for the ride, hyung. I’ll see you on Tuesday. Message me when you get home, okay?_ ” he said smugly, jumping out of the car with a wave and a smile. Taeil nodded before physically shaking himself out of it with a chuckle. He offered Hyuck a sweet smile of his own, waving before pulling away.

Donghyuck had waved until he was out of sight before turning and booking it up the stairs to his apartment. He fumbled with his keys, nearly dropping them in his attempt to get inside as fast as possible. He flung the door open to find all three of his roommates lounging on the couch. They greeted him cheerfully.

“What’s up Hyuckie? How was your da-” Jeno tried to ask, but Donghyuck blew past them into his room.

“Where the hell is my laptop?” he cried urgently, chucking his wallet and keys on his dresser before spinning uselessly in circles until he spotted the object in question. 

"Who's that girl who never shuts up about bisexuality and polyamory? She was at Buzzfeed at some point I think?" he demanded, laptop already open in his arms as he slammed the space bar repeatedly, trying to get it to boot up faster. 

"Rightfully so," Renjun sniffed, affronted at the same time Jeno guessed, "Gaby Dunn?"

"Sure. Probably. Where do I find her again?" Hyuck wanted to know. "I have a _lot_ of research to do before Tuesday."

"Hyuck, I mean this in the most loving way possible - calm the fuck down," Jaemin ordered with a chuckle of disbelief. 

"Harsh," Jeno chastised mildly. Jaemin only shrugged. 

"What's got you all worked up, buddy?" Jeno asked carefully, craning his neck to look at his friend. 

Hyuck was paying them exactly zero attention, clacking away determinedly on his laptop which now sat perched on the back of the couch.

"Donghyuck," Renjun said sharply after a few moments of silence and it was finally enough to knock the other boy out of it. 

"What?" Hyuck hissed, annoyed by the interruption. Then he took in the scene before him, seeming to come to a realization. Renjun was laying with his head on Jeno's lap, legs splayed over Jaemin's while the two J's were holding hands across the back of the couch. They were all currently eyeing him incredulously.

"Wait a minute… aren't you three dating?" he asked excitedly. They all exchanged looks with each other then before all sort of nodding and shrugging in agreement. 

"I guess so," Jeno confirmed. 

"We don't really stick to any strict labels. We're all kinda chill to ride the vibe, ya know?" Jaemin added unhelpfully with a wide grin. Donghyuck made a face.

"God, I loathe when you speak," he sniped primly while Renjun rolled his eyes and Jeno just shook his head. 

"Maybe… but you like when I do other things with my tongue," Jaemin shot back, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. This earned him a swift kick from the feet in his lap. 

It was supposed to annoy Hyuck but in fact it just served to get him thinking. It's true, he had made out with all three of his roommates at some point or another - usually drunk, but not always - even though he'd never had any interest in dating any of them and even though they were kind of all dating each other. Huh, so maybe the concept of dating someone with another boyfriend wasn't so foreign to him after all. This might not be as intimidating as he was starting to believe.

"This is perfect," he announced excitedly, gathering up his laptop and making his way around to sit on the couch. "Make room, you're all helping me figure this out." Renjun started to complain that he didn't want to move but just ended up scrambling out of the way before Hyuck could plop down directly onto his chest. 

"Taeil hyung said I could date him."

"Nice!"

"But he's been dating his roommate for like 6 years."

"Oh my god, they were roommates…"

"Ohhh that's why you're like this."

"Right," Hyuck confirmed. "Now don't just sit there, _help_ me."

They spent most of the rest of the night down the rabbit hole of queer lifestyle YouTube while Donghyuck alternately grilled them about their own situation and complained about being excluded (despite the fact that he had no interest in joining them. It was the principle of the thing).

The next few weeks were great for two main reasons - 1) he got to spend even more time with Taeil, and 2) he got to kiss him whenever he wanted. There were still a lot of Johnny-related commitments that Taeil had to keep up with but even though they were both quite busy, they made extra effort to try this dating thing out.

Despite his crash course in open relationships, Donghyuck did most of his learning through trial and error, as well as a series of hypotheticals he called ‘Wait, am I allowed to..’.

“Wait, am I allowed to tell people we’re dating?”

Yes, of course.

“Wait, am I allowed to tag you in pictures?”

Yes.

“Wait, am I allowed to blow you in the backseat right now?”

Embarrassed but enthusiastic yes.

Huh. This wasn’t so bad, really. Pretty much just like normal dating so far.

But alas, all good things come to an end.

Not that what followed was bad. It was just… different.

One day, Taeil had wandered into work with a small vase full of pretty purple flowers, along with one odd, comparatively giant sunflower.

“Pretty,” he’d said, following Taeil into his office in the back of the bakery. “Where’d you get those?”

"I've been complaining about how dreary it is being locked back in the office half the day and Johnny came home with these last night."

"How sweet," Donghyuck replied, doing his best to sound genuine. Based on the look Taeil gave him, he had not entirely succeeded.

"They'll definitely brighten the place up. For a few days before they shrivel from a complete lack of sunlight in your cave," he teased instead, giving up on any attempt at covering his mild resentment.

It’s not like Donghyuck was a particularly jealous person - this probably wouldn’t work out if he were. He just didn’t like being shown up. Taeil had told him that first night (and on several subsequent occasions as well) that it wasn’t a competition. And Donghyuck understood that… in principle. However, when you spent your entire life standing out either by choice or otherwise, it was difficult to just simply not be superior at something. So even though he was confident and even though he had unique charm, he couldn’t help but resent Johnny’s tendency toward surprise gift giving. Not because it was thoughtful - Donghyuck could do thoughtful - but because that was one area in which Hyuck couldn’t really compete. It didn’t help that Johnny was loaded (by broke college kid standards). If he was being honest, most of the time he managed to ignore Johnny’s existence as a person at all. He was more of a distant, faceless, Taeil-related entity. That made it easier for Hyuck to essentially ignore him in favor of enjoying himself. Except at times like these. Then there was the minor resentment. He knew better than to play it up too heavily. He would never actually want to burden Taeil with his silly immaturity. But snark was part of his charm, if he did say so himself, so he could get away with a bit in the name of humor.

“That’s an… interesting bouquet,” Hyuck said innocently, reaching out to nudge the sunflower with one finger. It really didn’t go with the rest of the flowers at all. “One of these things is not like the others.”

“That’s because it didn’t come with the bouquet,” Taeil replied with a grin, giving Hyuck’s prodding finger a little squeeze before plucking the sunflower out of the vase. “Those are for me but this one is for you.”

He held it out to him, but Donghyuck just continued to stare dumbly.

“It’s totally up to you, but Johnny has been asking to meet you,” Taeil continued, fighting back a grin as he scooped up one of Hyuck’s hands and placed the stem of the flower carefully into his fist. “It’s my fault I think - I’ve been bragging about you too much. But I can’t help it.”

That was enough to bring him back to his senses with a rush of warmth.

“It’s only because I’m too adorable and interesting,” Hyuck said teasingly, spinning the stem of the sunflower between his fingers.

“Pretty much,” Taeil confirmed with a smile. “Johnny thinks you sound fun. Plus, and I quote: ‘I already know you have excellent taste, considering you love me.' So, yeah. You don’t have to spend time with him if it makes you uncomfortable but I’d kind of like you two to meet at least once. If you’re planning on sticking around, that is.”

Hyuck made an indignant noise.

“Is that supposed to be some kind of challenge?” he demanded huffily. “Are you guilt tripping me right now?”

Taeil only smiled innocently, all bright and endearing. This was bullshit.

Suddenly Donghyuck came to an interesting realization, though. If he could schmooze Johnny _just_ enough to be cool with him, it would open up a whole new world of Taeil time! He could hijack their alone time and insert himself into Taeil’s life even more. That didn’t sound so bad. That sounded kind of brilliant, actually.

“I wouldn’t be opposed,” he said finally, in his best attempt at casual. “If you like him, how bad can he be?”

Taeil laughed but he looked legitimately relieved to hear him say that.

“Great! I’ll let him know and we’ll come up with a date,” he announced happily. “Maybe this weekend or something.”

“Whatever you want, hyung. I’ve got time.”

“Here, let me put that back in the water for now. You can take it back after your shift.”

Donghyuck took one last look at the sunflower before handing it over.

It was weird, kinda. There’s no way Johnny could have known. Taeil didn’t even know so obviously there was no way Johnny could have. So it was a weird fluke but… they didn’t know that his family’s nickname for him in Korean was sunshine and that whenever his siblings saw a sunflower in the wild they would scream and cheer, ‘Sunflower! Sunflower! Look it’s oppa! It’s hyung!’.

Lucky guess, he supposed.

  
  


They ended up meeting for brunch downtown the following Sunday. The farm was closed Sundays during summer so they were all gloriously free. Donghyuck remembered spending far too long deliberating over whether to show up looking like hot shit or like he couldn’t care less. In the end, he went with something in the middle.

He’d taken an uber with Jeno, Jaemin, and Renjun who had decided to brunch at another place nearby, just in case he needed a feasible out if things got unbearably awkward. He had good friends.

He distinctly remembers seeing Johnny first - even before getting inside. He followed Taeil’s socials, so obviously he’d seen him. So he already knew Johnny was handsome, tall, and - for lack of a better word - built. But unfortunately for Donghyuck, the pictures didn’t do him justice. Just his luck.

He knew Johnny must recognize him too because despite the fact that he was trying very hard to pretend not to notice, the man’s eyes had followed him all the way as he walked past the giant window until he finally entered the restaurant. The air conditioning hit him like a blast from a refrigerator. He pretended to look around for a moment and of course it was Johnny who waved him over with a weird smile like he was in on a secret that Donghyuck wasn’t. He didn’t like that one bit.

Luckily, Taeil waved too and Hyuck was able to shoot him a genuine smile as he made his way over.

He murmured a quiet hello to Johnny as he squeezed past him to join Taeil in the booth. He immediately glomped onto him like he always did - wrapping both arms around one of Taeil’s and nuzzling his head against his neck.

“ _I missed you_ ,” he said in Korean, much to the older man’s amusement, as well as Johnny’s apparently.

“You just saw me yesterday,” he replied in English, causing Hyuck to lean back and quickly assess him.

“ _So I’m not allowed to miss you when you’re gone_?” he tried again. Johnny was still grinning and Taeil looked like he was trying not to.

“Of course you’re allowed. I missed you too,” he answered, still in English. Hyuck pursed his lips, looking between the two men.

“ _That’s right, this hyung isn’t very good at speaking it, is he_?” he asked innocently in Korean. He looked at Johnny as he spoke, tilting his head curiously. “ _That’s why Taeil hyung always wants to speak Korean when we’re together, right?”_

“Sounds about right,” Johnny confirmed, cutting Taeil off before he could scold the younger man. “ _I do speak it a little,_ I went to Korean school growing up but _my parents always spoke English at home._ _I usually speak English with Taeil hyung._ It’s easier that way.”

The answer was half in English, half Korean, a bit rusty. It’s not like Hyuck only ever exclusively spoke Korean or English at once. Two out of his three roommates were also Korean American and they all sort of spoke a mixture at home most of the time but Johnny was clearly less than fluent. Not like he could hold it against him but he just wasn’t used to speaking much English with Taeil outside of work.

“English it is, then I guess,” he replied with a forced friendly smile. He felt a little warning pinch on his thigh but Johnny was still smiling down at him warmly, completely unbothered.

“How about I make it up to you? You speak English, and I’ll treat today, deal?” he offered, holding his hand out to shake.

Donghyuck took it easily, offering a dead fish handshake that was sure to infuriate any business major within a 12 mile radius but particularly the one whose hand he was currently shaking.

“Oh come on, what kind of impression do you expect to make with a shake like that?” Johnny joked predictably, gripping his hand even firmer in retaliation, continuing to pump it up and down.

“Probably a bad one,” Hyuck replied innocently, offering the barest squeeze to appease him, “but I don’t spend much time networking and brokering important deals so…”

“Fair enough,” Johnny quipped, sniffing in feigned distaste, setting their hands down. “I still think we should work on it though.”

“Maybe next time, tiger,” he replied dismissively. He heard Taeil snort beside him but Johnny’s expression changed to thoughtful as he looked him over.

“You know, it’s not like I don’t already know who you are but I realized we didn’t actually introduce ourselves,” he said, continuing when Hyuck opened his mouth to protest. “I know Taeil calls you Donghyuck but I hear you usually go by just Hyuck. What do you want me to call you?”

He paused for the briefest moment to think it over. His mom and Taeil were the only ones who called him by his full name on a regular basis and he kind of wanted to keep it that way. He liked the way it felt special coming from his boyfriend.

“Hyuck is fine,” he answered. When Johnny immediately looked entirely too excited as he opened his mouth to reply, he cut him off, “And I swear to god, if you make a comment about Goofy, Tom Sawyer, or a Midsummer Night’s Dream I’m walking out right now.”

Johnny deflated at first before shooting him a rueful grin,

“I guess you’ve heard ‘em all by now, huh? Shakespeare, though... I definitely wouldn’t have thought of that one.”

“English majors think they’re funny. Huck, Hyuck, Puck - it’s all the same to them. Anyway, not all of us have regular ass white dude names, Johnny-boy,” he shot back, far too pleased with himself. He heard Taeil sigh but Johnny only smiled, rubbing his thumb over the back of Hyuck’s hand.

Wait, what?

Somehow he hadn’t noticed that Johnny never actually let go of his hand after setting it down on the table, where they still remained clutched together. And like an idiot, Hyuck instinctively (and very obviously) yanked it away once he realized. God, did he have to be so dramatic all the damn time?

He glanced over at Taeil, who suddenly appeared very interested in looking over the menu, mouth pulled tight as he clearly tried not to smile too widely.

He glanced back at Johnny who was still smiling, but it was that secret smile again. Hyuck couldn’t stand it. Something behind his eyes. Too knowing. Like he was plotting. Hyuck knew enough about plotting to recognize that.

God, he wasn’t going to make it through this sober.

“Are the mimosas bottomless,” he called out abruptly to one of the servers strolling by. She looked a little surprised but then smiled, pulling out her order pad.

“Is your whole party here, now? Are you guys ready to order?” she asked brightly, making a note. “And we do serve bottomless, yes. $12, unlimited.”

“We’ll do two bottomless and a Bloody Mary, then” Johnny piped up. Taeil looked at him, arching an eyebrow. Johnny just shrugged,

“We can’t let him drink alone. Besides, we live nearby.”

“The Bloody Marys are only $5 until 3 o’clock,” the server offered politely, scribbling.

“Make it two Bloody Marys then~”

“Johnny…”

“You like them!”

Once they had given the server their food orders and she took off for the kitchen, Hyuck leaned in conspiritorily.

“If you’re trying to win me over, you’re doing a great job,” he said in his best impression of blasé. Fake it til you make it. “Taeil hyung never drinks with me.”

“Because you’re underage,” Taeil muttered defensively with a frown. Hyuck bumped his shoulder playfully while Johnny’s proud smile froze.

“Oh shit,” he murmured thoughtfully, looking Hyuck over. “I literally forgot people under 21 exist… Man it’s been a minute since I had to think about that.”

“Like that ever stopped me. Besides, I’ve only got another year,” Hyuck said dismissively. Then he looked the two of them over thoughtfully. “You know, it’s kind of nice brunching with old people though. This is the first time I wasn’t carded. Which I’m happy about, tbh. I hate using my fake during the day.”

“Ooh, lemme see!” Johnny demanded excitedly. “I want to see how fake id technology has improved since my day. Yours isn’t a California one, right? They’re too hard to copy. Mine were always from Florida.”

“Texas,” Hyuck admitted reluctantly, glancing around to make sure none of the servers were paying attention. “Can you stop yelling about it? What if I wanna come back here again?”

“If they cared, they would have carded you,” Johnny said, waving his hand dismissively, making to grab at him. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging - I legit want to see it.”

“You two really are too much,” Taeil announced with a sigh, but his gaze was too affectionate to back it up.

The rest of the afternoon was… eventful. Hyuck didn't end up needing his friends to save him but he _did_ need Taeil to stop him from trying to keep up with Johnny on mimosas after the 7th or so. In the end, they were all too buzzed to drive, so they ended up ubering back to Taeil and Johnny’s house to wait until they were sober enough to drive Hyuck home and go back for their car. It was… nice? Taeil ended up badgering Johnny into making them dinner later that night (after like two movies and too many rounds of video games in which Hyuck got to watch Taeil go from cheerfully clueless to angrily competitive as Johnny continued to annihilate him mercilessly) on the condition that he would help out.

Taeil immediately agreed to the terms only to change his mind approximately four minutes later, stretched out over the couch, whining about coming down from the alcohol and needing a nap. He forced Donghyuck to go help Johnny instead. 

Which was fine. So fine. Totally fine. Nothing like being in an enclosed space with your boyfriend’s hot boyfriend for an hour, slicing up veggies and meat and trying not to cut your own finger off when he reaches across you to grab the olive oil.

Because Hyuck might have been drunk for a portion of that first meeting but he wasn’t dumb.

He could see that way Johnny looked at him. Arguably at first sight. He was smitten and bizarrely, nothing Hyuck did seemed to deter that.

And sure, Johnny had probably gone into this whole thing a lot more accepting and open minded than he, himself, had ever tried to be, so maybe that had something to do with it. But by the end of that first day (arguably before the end of their first conversation but Donghyuck staunchly resolved _not_ to consider that particular notion) it was clearly more than just a thoughtful, friendly interest. And that…

Donghyuck didn’t really know what to do with that.

Suddenly his evil plan of getting in Johnny’s good graces in order to further insert himself into Taeil’s life became a double edged sword.

Because now Johnny was more than happy to have Hyuck around. Because that gave Johnny more chances to court him.

And being courted by his boyfriend’s hot boyfriend mostly made Hyuck’s insides feel like one big keyboard smash.

He was used to knowing exactly what he wanted (and getting it) but Hyuck never seemed to know what he wanted from Johnny.

It was all kind of a lot and it had resulted in Donghyuck clinging harder to Taeil and stubbornly resisting Johnny. But…

His resolve was weakening.

Damn it.

*

"My boys! Playing nice today? I haven't gotten any customer complaints, so that's a good sign."

Donghyuck straightened up, looking around excitedly to find Taeil wandering toward them, hands shoved into the front pocket of his oversized sweatshirt. He’d changed into a little pair of shorts and flip flops which was the official Taeil signal for ‘off work’. Hyuck grabbed one of the few remaining garlic fries, turning to offer it to his boyfriend only to find Johnny beside him doing the exact same thing. When Johnny noticed, he hesitated, fry still outstretched. After a moment of indecision over whether to concede, he turned, shoving it into Hyuck’s mouth instead. He made an affronted noise, chewing grumpily while Johnny only laughed. Taeil was chuckling too as he allowed Donghyuck to feed him, making a noise of mild complaint when two pairs of hands then immediately grappled him into the spot between them on the bench.

Hyuck wrapped his arms around Taeil’s middle, scooting forward until he was resting his chin on his shoulder.

“We always play nice,” he pronounced cheerfully, frowning when he was immediately met with two disbelieving snorts.

“One of you does,” Taeil said, knocking his head against Hyuck’s lightly, grinning.

“I’m playing nice today,” Hyuck insisted, hugging Taeil even closer. “I gave him pie he liked AND shared fries.”

“That’s true, I got to soak up the benefits of his employee privileges,” Johnny chimed in brightly, scooping up Taeil’s hands in his own.

“Right!” Hyuck said, watching as Johnny began playing idly with his boyfriend’s fingers - weaving them together then apart, rubbing over them, swinging their hands gently. “Besides, I don’t know who you think I am, but the way I act when it’s the three of us _is_ me being nice. If I was being mean, you’d know.”

Taeil only sighed but Johnny was smiling.

“See, I have no trouble believing that,” he announced. Hyuck had been very pleased with their positioning a minute ago, as it allowed him to properly glomp onto Taeil while still continuing conversation. But now that Johnny was gazing down at them both fondly, kicking his leg out so that it rested against Hyuck’s with Taeil’s hands in his own, he decided he liked it less.

“Are we gonna sit here all day, or are we going to have our da- plans? Our day?” Hyuck demanded irritably, frustrated with his own babbling. “Are we gonna get wine drunk, or not?”

“Someone’s impatient~” Johnny sang out, kicking at Donghyuck’s foot with his own. “You won’t even let your beloved manager rest a minute, huh?”

“He doesn’t need rest, and he doesn’t need to manage me,” Hyuck replied snottily, tightening his grip around Taeil’s middle. “He only needs apple wine.”

“Thank you for speaking for me,” Taeil deadpanned, leaning back heavily enough to make Hyuck groan and strain to remain upright. “And I don’t like apple wine. You two are the sweet tooths in this relationship.”

Donghyuck physically bit his tongue to prevent himself from debating that particular title. It looked like Johnny was waiting for it too, all smug and poised to tease.

Not today, sucker.

“Fine. You get red wine drunk and cry on my shoulder later about how beautiful the cows on the farm down the road are,” he said instead, jostling his boyfriend until the man begrudgingly climbed out of his lap and off the bench. Johnny stood, lacing their fingers together, waiting expectantly for Hyuck to follow.

He did, hanging back a few steps as the others made their way around toward the entrance. He glanced belatedly over his shoulder to see if any of the few random customers were paying them any mind. It didn’t appear so, but you never knew who’d be side-eying two men holding hands in public and you _especially_ never knew when there were three of them.

Hyuck still occasionally remembered and thus felt self-conscious about… the three of them. Whatever the hell they were.

He liked it better when he forgot it was weird.

It was all Johnny’s fault, he was sure.

  
  


They decided to walk to Boa Vista. It was just up the road from their own farm, far too close to drive, even if they hadn’t planned to drink. Taeil and Hyuck had carpooled to work knowing that Johnny would eventually show up and that they’d all likely end up riding home together. 

Boa Vista, like most of the wineries on this trail, was slightly busier than their own place. People could always be motivated to schlep up the mountain for alcohol, even in hot weather. Still, they didn’t have to fight the Peak Season Crowds™ and the little bar back behind the grocery area was blessedly vacant.

“You know, I’ve never done the tasting here before,” Johnny mused thoughtfully, turning fully loaded puppy eyes on Taeil before they had even reached the counter. “You guys already know what you like so you always buy bottles of the same thing.”

Taeil balked at the humorously unexpected guilt trip.

“If you want to do a tasting, just ask,” Taeil teased, prodding his boyfriend on the shoulder. Johnny yelped, falling back exaggeratedly. “Put that bottom lip away. The position of pouty baby is currently filled by Donghyuck.”

Johnny and Hyuck stopped walking, pouting in unison (much to Hyuck’s personal horror and Taeil’s considerable amusement).

“Why do I always have to be the adult?” Johnny complained, only making the barest attempt to whine less. “You’re the oldest, grandpa.”

“But you look the oldest, Robert,” Hyuck piped up meanly. When he only received blank looks, he tsked, rolling his eyes. “The tall brother from Everybody Loves Raymond. He was younger right?”

“Weren’t you like an infant when that show ended?” Johnny demanded, cocking an eyebrow.

“Ever heard of reruns?”

“I mean sure. Of _decent_ shows.”

“Maybe Donghyuck’s secretly the oldest,” Taeil interrupted before Hyuck had a chance to unironically start defending mediocre sitcoms, for which he was surprisingly grateful. How low would he stoop just to snipe at Johnny? Only time would tell. Okay, maybe he really did need to start playing nice. He held back a sigh, looking at both of them sternly.

“Alright, children. Since you’ve been on your best behavior today, I’ll get you the wine tasting. But no cotton candy and not a word of this to your mother,” he said, in his best impression of a middle aged dad.

Johnny cheered raucously like a child while Taeil merely rolled his eyes with a smile, reaching out to give Hyuck’s hand an appreciative squeeze.

Unfortunately for them (read Hyuck) the person working the bar today was not Mary - the summertime usual and his surrogate mother - which meant that he’d have to show ID.

He hung back as Johnny and Taeil handed theirs over, hiding his wallet below the bar as he pulled his fake out from the back. He closed it again, plastering a carefree, friendly look on his face as he handed the card over. The young woman looked it over closely, glancing from Hyuck's face to the fake several times, mouth pursed slightly. 

"Texas, huh? You here on vacation?" she asked in a tone that was halfway between conversational and accusatory. Oh Christ.

Donghyuck laughed easily (completely put on) and opened his mouth to answer when Johnny wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder, shooting the woman a magnanimous smile.

"As a matter of fact, he lives here," Johnny informed her, reaching out to reclaim the ID gently. He glanced down at it before slipping it back into Hyuck's hand. "Last year at Sac State. Not much point in getting a Cali license when he'll be back down south this time next year, right Hyuck?"

"That's what they tell me," he agreed cheerfully, slipping the card back into his wallet, careful not to reveal his real ID.

All three of them gazed at the woman expectantly. She looked between them, ever so slightly unsure.

"We were hoping to do the wine tasting actually," Johnny continued, catching her eye with a bright smile. "Will it be you leading us through that? It’s tough to explain wine to us yokels, you must really know your stuff~"

The woman blinked, finally melting under the sheer force of Johnny's flirtation. Her expression cleared and she offered each of them a friendly smile,

"Absolutely! I'm Olivia, I'll be working with you today!"

The wine tasting was fun. Taeil was right, of course - the majority of the wine, apple or otherwise, was extremely sweet. He kept taking baby sips before passing his glass off to either Hyuck or Johnny but Hyuck repaid the favor with the two red wine options. He didn't care if it made him look like a baby. The girl had already committed to buying his lie - he had no interest in suffering for appearances sake.

As soon as the tasting was done, Taeil snagged a whole bottle of the Barbera, taking off for the patio with hardly a backward glance, leaving Johnny to pay.

"Well…" Hyuck said, putting his hands on his hips and offering him a sympathetic look before turning to Olivia behind the counter. "Might as well add a bottle of Apple Blackberry to the tab~"

Johnny groaned loudly but predictably paid up, handing the bottle to Donghyuck, watching as he skipped off to join his boyfriend. 

Taeil was already halfway through an extremely full glass of wine by the time they arrived. They were the only ones outside so it wasn't long before they devolved into loud, giggling, complaining messes. 

Johnny halfheartedly tried to convince Hyuck that he didn’t need to immediately catch up to Taeil. Hyuckeil wholeheartedly tried to convince Johnny that he would be the one driving home later. They were successful, which resulted in a sulky Johnny limiting himself to two glasses while Taeil and Donghyuck did their damnedest to finish the rest.

“Well, we know Hyuck is drunk when he starts drinking red,” Johnny teased about an hour into their grand ol’ time. Taeil laughed as he continued to pour, struggling to hold the bottle still while Donghyuck glared fiercely.

“It’s because you were drinking mine and hyung was drinking alone,” Hyuck reasoned, nearly pulling his glass away before Taeil had stopped pouring. “I have to help him finish.”

“‘Have to’ is a bit strong. Wine bottles do come with corks, you know,” Johnny shot back, grabbing the bottle and moving it to the other side of the table and out of their collective reach. Hyuckeil let out a loud wail of protest in unison which went ignored.

“Both your glasses are full!” Johnny shot back sternly. Hyuck frowned then narrowed his eyes, pointing his finger right in the older man’s face.

“Don’t try to change the subject! You thought I’d forget you didn’t answer my question,” he accused, yelping dramatically when Johnny only grinned, nipping at his finger. He pulled it away, scooting as close to Taeil and as far from Johnny as possible while squished between the two of them on the bench (not by choice). “I was asking you! What would it take for you to move back to Chicago?”

It was a common topic of discussion (not argument) that Hyuck liked to bring up from time to time. Johnny had moved out to California for undergrad, managed to find a job working downtown within a few years of graduation and supposedly planned to remain here indefinitely. Donghyuck wasn’t so sure though. Sacramento was hardly a thriving metropolis, even within the context of Northern California. Most tech or business people flocked to the Bay Area or LA. No one _really_ ended up in Sac by choice. Unless they were in state politics, he supposed. But Johnny wasn’t.

“Hmmm,” Johnny mused, pressing his finger to his chin theatrically as he pretended to consider. “Probably six figures. You’d definitely have to pay me big to willingly put up with midwest weather again. Plus, believe it or not, I have no desire to go back to being the token Asian dude again. I like it out here. If anything, I _might_ take a good offer in LA or the Bay maybe. Depends. It’d have to be exceptional to be worth the cost of living though.”

“I _knew_ it!” Donghyuck declared victoriously, grabbing Taeil’s arm and wrapping it around himself roughly. His boyfriend chuckled drunkenly, digging his chin into Hyuck’s shoulder before turning to retrieve his wine glass. “You’re dying to get out of here, admit it! What’s stopping you Hollywood? Fly free! Fulfill your dreams! I’ll be sure to take good care of Taeil hyung for you when you’re gone~”

Johnny appeared rather unimpressed.

“You do realize that if I somehow end up moving that Taeil’s coming with me, right?” he asked snobbishly, grinned down at him. “And then you’d have to come too and you _hate_ LA. Just imagine - the terrible traffic, the unbearable people, everything’s so spread out you can’t ever _get_ anywhere-” Hyuck scowled when he realized Johnny was mimicking him, “-it’s the _worst._ Why would anyone ever want to live there?”

He pouted as Taeil laughed heartily,

“God, you have the rant down word for word,” he teased, knocking his head into the back of Hyuck’s. Johnny grinned proudly.

“I’m honestly being considerate of you by staying,” he finished smugly, leaning forward to give Donghyuck’s thigh a squeeze. “Instead of trying to get rid of me all the time, you should be thanking me.”

“As if I would really thank you for hanging around,” Hyuck muttered, taking a swig from his wine glass. Johnny looked unimpressed before his expression turned wicked. In a flash his hands wrapped around Hyuck’s waist, yanking him halfway across the bench. Donghyuck squawked, barely managing to keep his wine from sloshing all over him.

“What was that?” Johnny demanded sweetly. “I didn’t quite catch it. I did hear ‘thank you’, though~”

He glared fiercly at Johnny’s dumb smug face, attempting to ride the force of his self-righteous anger at being manhandled to ignore the fact that his hands were still resting comfortably on Hyuck’s waist. He opened his mouth to protest when he felt his wine glass being plucked from his grip. He turned to watch as Taeil set it carefully on the table, already deflating.

“Fine,” he allowed with a sigh, pursing his lips as he looked Johnny over. “I refuse to offer gratitude for you insisting on hanging around bothering us-” Two nearly identical snorts of disbelief, “-but if I _must,_ I’ll thank you for sweet talking the wine girl earlier. She was really about to bounce my ass, so thanks for the save back there, big guy.”

Johnny seemed satisfied with this and opened his mouth to respond when he was interrupted by loud laughter from Taeil.

“Johnny would never let some rando bounce your ass before he got the chance to~” he said, still chuckling to himself, leaning heavily into Donghyuck.

Hyuck glanced over at him, eyebrows raised, before looking back at Johnny. The man seemed to have frozen. It looked like one finger was all it would take to send him toppling over. Donghyuck was just contemplating testing this theory when Johnny seemed to come back to himself, glaring over his shoulder at Taeil. 

"Well _someone's_ a lot drunker than he's letting on," Johnny proclaimed coolly. At least he sounded cool. Hyuck noticed he couldn't seem to meet his eye though. "You only go full pervert when you're sloshed. Am I going to have to pour the rest of that glass back in the bottle?"

Taeil reached over to snatch up his wine, clutching it protectively. He leaned his chin on Hyuck's shoulder and he could feel Taeil set his jaw determinedly.

“You think this is full pervert? This is nothing,” Taeil complained, chin bobbing with each word. “Besides I’m an angel compared to you! Should I tell him about what you said last week after Donghyuck-”

Johnny lurched forward in an attempt to cover his mouth, leaving Hyuck flailing in between the two of them as Taeil tried to escape.

They caused such a ruckus that one of the staff members ended up poking their head outside, politely asking if everything was alright (employee speak for 'what the fuck are you doing, shut the fuck up you nutcases'. Donghyuck was fluent). Hyuck used this particular distraction to escape, taking off for the bathrooms. He stayed there longer than necessary, counting to 60 as he washed his hands. He stared at himself in the mirror blankly for god knows how long, wondering exactly how drunk he was and if that was the reason he was feeling so off balance. He decided he should probably take it easy with the rest of the wine.

By the time he returned, Johnny and Taeil had calmed down significantly, merely chatting now. Hyuck plopped down on the same bench again, behind his boyfriend this time ( _not_ hiding. Just for a change of scenery, you know? His day hadn't consisted of nearly enough Taeil snuggling, that's all).

Eventually Johnny managed to convince Taeil to recork the wine instead of finishing but only on the condition that they buy another bottle on the way out. 

They walked back to Alabaster to drop their shit in the car, standing around in the parking lot arguing for an embarrassing amount of time over where they should go next and how. Hyuck lobbied hard for Jack Russell Brewery ("they have _mead,_ who else has mead??") but Johnny cruelly shot him down ("I can't drive yet and it'll be easy to get an uber there but we might get stuck coming back. Besides there's nothing to do there but drink and I can't anymore").

Finally they settled on High Hill Ranch. It had the most to do, was usually far too crowded to visit during peak season, and was close to the freeway so they wouldn’t have to worry about not finding an uber back.

Speaking of which, while they waited on their ride, Johnny insisted on getting a picture with Hyuck by the stupid guardian bears. Donghyuck tried in vain to protest but Johnny - who typically humored him more than any human should rightfully be capable of doing - completely ignored him for once, physically dragging him over with a cheerful Taeil in tow.

“Don’t be a brat, and smile,” Johnny ordered, only half teasing. “Think of this as payback for my supporting your illicit drinking habits, hmm?”

Hyuck gazed up at him in surprise, watching his expression shift from stern to knowing as he snaked an arm around the boy’s waist, turning toward a waiting Taeil with a picture smile. And maybe he was extra sensitive or maybe he was just drunk but he was uncomfortably aware of the splay of Johnny’s fingers over his hip and the closeness of his body and-

“ _Donghyuck-ah! Look at the camera!”_ Taeil called out with a hint of amusement as Hyuck all but jolted back to reality. He frowned, then posed with a smile, throwing his arm around the bear beside him.

“Great! Thanks for being a good sport,” Johnny said, sounding satisfied as he grinned over at Hyuck. His eyebrows furrowed, moving his hand from Hyuck’s waist to trace over his cheek gently. “Did you get sunburned? You’re a little pink.”

“It’s probably just from standing in the sun, it’s hot,” he muttered quietly, pulling away to press his own hands to his face. Johnny nodded understandingly, checking the ping on his phone.

“Oh! The car’s here,” he announced, looking around, pointing at the blue four-door that had just pulled into the lot. “Come on, let’s catch him before he drives all the way around.”

The ride to High Hill was short and the line to get into the lot wasn’t backed up down the street like it would inevitably be in a few weeks' time. They wandered around all of the various craft stalls, checking out the interesting and at times bizarre wares. Johnny got particularly caught up watching a little kid dip dyeing a scarf with the help of the stall owner. They weren’t particularly hungry yet, but that didn’t stop Johnny from buying a caramel apple which he pestered Hyuck into helping him finish (Taeil refused. He insisted he’d wait to eat real food on the way home).

There were a lot more kid’s activities than usual, in preparation for the official start of season and, of course, for Halloween. Taeil got hilariously wrapped up in playing a Gone Fishin’ style game (clearly meant for very young kids) in which he was supposed to retrieve a particular colored ‘fish’. By his fourth attempt, he was waving them off impatiently - both because he appeared committed to staying until he won and because he had no interest in hearing them nag him for continuing to pay to lose. Hyuck glanced over at Johnny questioningly, then he rolled his eyes with a chuckle and a shrug. They wandered through the little grocery store and Hyuck had to stop Johnny from buying essentially a full bushel of apples (“they’re on _sale”_ ).

“Hey what’s back over there?” Hyuck mused, nodding back behind the little candy shop at the edge of the small pond at the bottom of the big hill that gave the farm its name. “I don’t remember that being there.”

“Looks like something for Halloween,” Johnny answered, hands in his pockets, gazing over. Hyuck perked up, excited.

“Spooky season!” he said, steadying himself on Johnny’s shoulder as he stood up on his tiptoes to try to see better. He let out a delighted gasp. “I think it’s a haunted house! It looks like fun! Do you think it’s open?”

When Johnny didn’t respond, Hyuck turned to find him gazing determinedly over at the few random people fishing near the pond. He looked back at the little make-shift building. There were some teenagers and a family with a couple young kids loitering outside.

“I think it’s open. Let’s go! I haven’t been to a haunted house since high school,” Hyuck said, bouncing up and down excitedly. “This one will probably be lame but it still looks fun.”

He glanced over again to find Johnny finally looking back at him, biting his lower lip in concern. Hyuck tilted his head in confusion before chuckling in surprise.

“Wait… don’t tell me you’re- come on you? You can’t be serious,” he laughed as Johnny’s face shifted from unsure to determined.

“It’s _fine,_ we can go if you want,” he said, attempting to sound casual while Hyuck continued to giggle.

“Aren’t you too big to be scared?” Donghyuck challenged, raising his chin. Johnny rolled his eyes, clocking him harmlessly on the jaw.

“Aren’t you too small to ride this ride?” he teased back, wiggling to avoid Hyuck’s retaliating pinch. Johnny grabbed the offending hand, pulling him down the rest of the hill toward the building. “Come on, since you want to do it so bad.”

It _was_ a haunted house, it turned out, and it _was_ open. Johnny all but elbowed him out of the way when Hyuck tried to pay the measly five bucks each, only to be hilariously shot down for trying to pay with a credit card. Hyuck handed the money over victoriously, too busy making obnoxious faces at Johnny to hear much of the directions for the attraction. Don’t touch the actors, the actors won’t touch you, yadda yadda yadda. It was go time!

“After you,” Johnny said, bowing exaggeratedly as he ushered him through the door. Hyuck rolled his eyes but laughed anyway, allowing himself to be prodded forward. The building was small, but it seemed to have been sectioned off even further, forcing them to walk down a narrow path that undoubtedly looped around to make the journey feel longer than it was. It was dark, of course, with just enough red light so that they wouldn’t trip and die (and posthumously sue). There was lots of sheer fabric draped across the path to make it even harder to see what was coming. Hyuck vaguely hoped Johnny wouldn’t get clotheslined with his tall ass, and he dutifully made his way forward.

The first scare was just a loud noise that made Hyuck whip his head around and he felt Johnny grasp the back of his shirt. Okay. It was going to be tough to be scared when all he wanted to do was laugh.

The next one was a fake out - the knife wielding maniac let them fully pass before jumping out from behind them with an inhuman yell. Hyuck half expected Johnny to jump cartoonishly into his arms.

“Go, go, go,” Johnny muttered, shoving him. Hyuck dug his heels in, leaning back against him. The dude (half a head shorter than Johnny is should be noted) was still up in his space, rubber knife waving, and Johnny physically ducked around Hyuck, basically using him as a human shield. Donghyuck could only laugh loudly, waving as the knife dude finally turned to wander off.

“You’re such a dick,” Johnny muttered, sounding strained, hands still gripping his shoulders tightly.

“But I’m having so much fun!” Hyuck proclaimed, nuzzling against him teasingly.

BAM! Another jump scare, this time a giant creepy Raggedy Anne looking doll and Johnny jerked so hard he nearly sent Hyunk toppling to the side. In fact, he would have actually fallen over if Johnny hadn’t yanked him back upright again.

“Jesus, lady, can’t you see we’re having a moment!” Hyuck complained, wrenching himself out of Johnny’s grip to rub his shoulders over gingerly. The doll looked mildly affronted (or maybe not, it was hard to tell behind the makeup) but then sort of wandered off without comment.

“They’re just doing their job,” Johnny offered weakly, reaching out to ensure Hyuck was still in grabbing distance.

“Says the guy who shits his pants every time they pop out.”

“I do _not_ shit my pants. I _almost_ shit my pants, that's a crucial difference.”

They continued to slog their way through the seemingly endless maze of black sheets, Hyuck in the lead, Johnny practically up his ass (and not in the fun way).

Finally, after being jumped by like… a surprising number of costumed workers for a five dollar ticket, they finally reached a supposedly empty, open room. It was a dead end.

“What the hell?” Hyuck muttered, attempting to turn in a circle, but he was weighed down by Johnny physically clinging to his belt.

“The guy outside said something about having to find the exit, remember?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder like he expected Freddy Krueger to run up on him at any moment.

“Not gonna lie, I was absolutely not listening,” Hyuck revealed, swatting Johnny away in order to inspect the area.

“Well obviously the door is against the wall - since it leads outside and all,” he muttered to himself, feeling up the thick fabric draped over the side of the building. Nothing.

“Maybe it’s the far corner?” Johnny suggested, hovering just behind him. Hyuck glanced over, nodding in agreement. He approached and when he was maybe a single step away from the heavy swath of fabric, he registered rustling. He heard Johnny make a concerned noise behind him, falling back.

The thing that popped out mere inches from his face might as well have been the predator face reveal. They were slimy and snarling and impressively scary for a dinky portable haunted house on a kid’s farm.

“Ugh, say it, don’t spray it,” Hyuck muttered, wiping his face. He blinked quizzically, taking a step back to look the thing over properly. Johnny was laughing now in the background and the monster just sort of sank.

“Sorry,” it murmured in a hilariously small, high pitched voice, slinking past Donghyuck and Johnny before disappearing down the hall.

Hyuck glanced over his shoulder victoriously, holding his hand out for Johnny to take,

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”

When they emerged outside, it had gotten distinctively darker, although they couldn’t have been inside for more than 15 minutes. Late evening hit with a brisk chill they hadn’t felt during the day. When Hyuck instinctively shivered, he felt Johnny squeeze his hand and move his body a little closer (for warmth?) and suddenly he felt very Aware of Him™.

“There you two are,” a familiar voice called cheerfully. “Took you long enough, I thought they’d have to go in and kick you out.”

“Says the guy with the toy fishing pole imprinted in his hand,” Hyuck joked, bouncing out of Johnny’s grip to tackle Taeil instead.

“I ran out of money,” Taeil complained with a small pout. Donghyuck only cooed, nudging his bottom lip with his finger.

“Can’t win ‘em all, buddy,” Johnny chimed in, coming up close. Hyuck made a conscious effort not to move away, clutching at Taeil’s arm.

“Ah, but I _was_ the real winner in the end,” his boyfriend proclaimed, shaking Hyuck off gently to retrieve his phone from his pocket. “They have this little CCTV monitor outside this place where they can keep track of the guests. I caught most of your little adventure. It’s comedy gold, if you ask me.”

“Oh Christ,” Johnny muttered good-naturedly, moving to come around where he could see. “I thought you were distracted.”

“I finished right after you two goobers took off down the hill,” Taeil explained, pulling up the video. “You didn’t even notice me as you went inside.”

He paused thoughtfully, turning to Johnny instead of starting the video,

“But I thought you refused to go into haunted houses anymore since you were removed from Six Flags that time you accidentally punched a zombie at Fright Fest.”

Johnny laughed, a little strained, bumping Taeil with his hip.

“God, you still remember that? I was like 19, I think I’ve grown beyond throwing hands over a little jump scare,” he complained, glancing over at Hyuck like he expected him to laugh. “The fight or flight was strong, what can I say? Anyway, Hyuck wanted to try it out and who am I to say no?”

Hyuck merely looked at him, thinking.

“Anyways, all that matters is I caught this cinematic masterpiece on tape,” Taeil teased, holding up his phone and starting the video.

They all watched - Johnny and Taeil commenting and giggling while Hyuck continued to think.

Now that he looked at it, Johnny was using him as a shield, certainly, but rather as a barrier between himself and the actors. He watched as Johnny continued to pull Hyuck close to himself, keeping hands on him almost at all times. At least til the very end. Johnny really did get startled every single time. Hyuck wasn't sure if he felt bad about bullying Johnny into going into a haunted house for the first time in 6 years or if he was feeling something else.

“Hyuck? And Taeil! I didn’t expect to see you again today.”

They looked over in surprise to see a waving Sarah, holding a big pastry box to her chest.

“I was a little confused when your car was still in the lot as I left but I figured you must have gone with your ‘friend’. Hey Johnny,” she continued brightly. Johnny, who had snagged Taeil’s phone, glanced up just long enough to grin and wave, before returning to the video.

“We drank at Boa Vista so we ubered here,” Taeil explained, wandering over.

“You just finished, right? What brings you here?” Hyuck called out cheerfully, hovering beside Johnny.

“I had to drop something off to my friend - he works the kitchen,” she explained. “Plus he gives me some of their leftover doughnuts.”

“The leftovers from Alabaster’s aren’t enough?” Taeil teased, peaking into her box.

“We do a pastry swap,” she said, allowing him. “I can only eat so much apple pumpkin pie in one lifetime.”

“Speak for yourself,” Hyuck sang out.

“Wait, if you caught a car here, how are you getting back?” she asked.

“Same way, I suppose.”

“I wouldn’t mind driving you back if you want to save a few bucks. It’s not far. If you’re ready to leave now, that is.”

Hyuck got distracted as Taeil’s phone was abruptly shoved into his face.

“Look, the bear pictures,” Johnny said excitedly. “We forgot to look at them.”

Hyuck glanced down as he flipped through a few cute pictures of them posing. God his face really had been pink. Hyuck snuck a look up at Johnny who was focused on the phone, grinning.

“Ah, this one’s my favorite,” he said affectionately. “I love it when it looks like you actually like me.”

Hyuck glanced down at the picture in question and his stomach dropped. It did not look like he liked Johnny.

Taeil must have started snapping shots before they posed. Johnny had his arm around Hyuck’s waist, smiling down at him knowingly as he looked back up at him with… god.

Hyuck looked like he was sickeningly in love. Like… like he couldn’t believe his eyes. Like he couldn’t believe his stupid, obvious heart eyes. He was already blushing there and it was just. A lot.

Is this how he’d been looking to other people for these past few months?? How completely embarrassing. And Johnny and Taeil had just let him. Johnny especially! He just let Hyuck look at him like that without saying a damn word. That idiot.

“Yeah, yeah, they’re all well and good but look at this giant fool hiding behind some kid in the haunted house,” he said, swiping hurriedly back to the video and pressing play. “What a joke.”

Johnny scoffed, rolling his eyes with a chuckle. Hyuck glanced around to see Taeil standing off by himself now, watching them in knowing amusement. All this knowing. Everyone knew something he didn't, huh? Or that he pretended he didn't anyway.

“What happened to Sarah?” he asked casually, shifting from one foot to the other.

“She went ahead to the car. She’ll drop us back at ours but she decided to give you two a minute, since you seemed a bit distracted. With the video, of course.”

Taeil smiled innocently while Hyuck scowled then sighed. Johnny was paying absolutely no attention.

“I’ll admit, it looks a little funny,” Johnny said, laughing as he continued to watch the video over. Hyuck found himself watching his reactions again. The way he grinned and giggled. The way his eyes would soften. Dammit dammit.

“Thank god we can always trust Taeil to creep on us, or that experience would be lost to history,” Johnny joked, holding the phone out to return to Taeil. And because he was watching him closely, Hyuck saw the little blob of color on his inner arm that he’d never noticed before.

He was moving before he even knew it, grabbing Johnny’s arm to examine it more closely the moment the phone was out of his hand.

“What’s this?” Donghyuck demanded, tracing over the picture with his thumbs, twisting it this way and that.

“A tattoo,” Johnny teased, letting him. Hyuck pursed his lips but didn’t take his eyes off it.

“It’s a sunflower,” this came out more accusation than statement. When he finally looked up at Johnny, the man's expression was torn between confusion and amusement,

“Yeah… I’ve had it for years. You’ve never noticed?”

He hadn’t. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Hyuck had very pointedly avoided looking closely at Johnny’s body up until that point (mostly for the sake of his determination and sanity).

He was looking closely now. The tattoo was a pretty little thing. Soft and pastel.

“You gave me a sunflower before we met,” Hyuck said, still sounding unreasonably accusatory. Johnny frowned, then perked up at the memory.

“I did. I… I wanted to make a good impression, I guess? So I picked something close to me for luck,” he explained with a smile. Donghyuck didn’t miss the way he moved his body closer as he continued to allow his arm to be fondled. Johnny _please_.

“It’s my thing,” Hyuck said quietly, finally allowing his tone to soften. He blinked, glancing over at Taeil who was watching them with interest. His boyfriend shot him a soft smile before pointedly looking around instead - offering some semblance of privacy. As private as a weird confession in the middle of a public area could be. Everything was always so weird with Johnny. At least no one was around.

He glanced up to see the other man watching him expectantly, waiting for further explanation. Hyuck furrowed his brow, then laughed hopelessly.

“It’s- my family’s symbol for me? It goes with my nickname,” he admitted finally. Johnny quirked his head thoughtfully, then grinned,

“What are the odds? We’re connected~”

Hyuck paused, fingers still wrapped around Johnny’s elbow. This was stupid. He didn’t believe in any bullshit like that. But suddenly on a warm night in mid autumn, with Johnny half wrapped around him and Taeil watching… he finally wondered what exactly it was he was fighting against. What was the point of resisting something that he kept being shown could fit easily?

Fuck it then. This was the last straw.

He turned, grinning at Johnny's surprise. Their faces were already very close but he didn't move away, merely looking the other man over carefully. Hyuck took Johnny's face in his hands, smooshing it roughly, laughing at the affronted noise he made. 

"I think you're right. I guess we're all made for each other," he pronounced with a decisive nod. "I don’t usually have a thing for scaredy cats but somehow you won me over in the end. Anyway! Ready to go?”

With a pat to both cheeks, Hyuck turned and made his way over to Taeil, holding out his hand. His boyfriend took it, tilting his head questioningly, to which Donghyuck merely nodded. Taeil grinned excitedly, moving in to nuzzle his head into the crook of Hyuck’s neck. They’d only taken a few steps when they were stopped by a loud,

“Wait!”

Hyuck paused, looking back to see Johnny frozen again. His face flashed between elation and distressed confusion. It shouldn’t have been funny.

“What are you saying?” Johnny demanded. It was his turn to sound unreasonably accusatory now. “Are you saying- What are you saying?”

“Do I have to be saying anything?” Hyuck teased, but Taeil immediately nudged him, fighting a smile to give him a stern look.

“Don’t torture the poor boy. He’s been suffering for months,” he declared mildly and Hyuck sighed, doing his best to sound put-upon.

“Fine,” he said, kissing Taeil’s hand, sending him a wicked smile before turning on Johnny. His expression went from something like a frustrated pout to sheer alarm.

“What do you want from me, Johnny Suh? A declaration?” he asked silkily, walking slowly forward. He grinned widely as Johnny seemed to brace himself before dipping his head and fluttering his eyelashes teasingly. “A confession? You’re a romantic sap like that, aren’t you?”

Hyuck stopped directly in front of his target, planting his feet firmly.

“In that case: I do declare, you’re the most painfully obvious, least subtle suitor I’ve ever had the utter bemusement of being chased by. Yet through all that, and your apparent suffering, never once did you use your words.”

“I was _trying_ to be considerate of you,” Johnny managed to pout out, hands hovering just above his pockets, like he was resisting shoving them inside. “I didn’t want to be too pushy or whatever. You didn't seem ready for anything serious.”

Hyuck arched an eyebrow, considering mocking further but he decided it might finally be time to lay off. Out of the goodness of his heart, of course.

“Well, it seems like that must have worked in your favor,” he allowed with a sweet smile, laughing when Johnny’s face shifted from pout to confusion to something like hope. “Here’s your confession. I’m into you, dumbass. Let’s date maybe?”

Johnny opened his mouth then shut it again, brows furrowing. Hyuck rolled his eyes impatiently.

“Blink twice if you want a kiss,” he said cheerfully. Johnny blinked rapidly at him in surprise. Hyuck grinned. “That works for me.”

He pushed himself up on his tip toes, cupping Johnny’s face gently as he pressed their lips together, waiting until he felt arms around his waist, pulling him close, before he began kissing in earnest.

It was brief and mild - they were still in public - but it was also warm and nice. Donghyuck pulled away, dropping flat on his feet again, satisfied. But Johnny, it seemed, was not. 

His grip on Hyuck's waist tightened, pressing them flush together. Now it was Hyuck's turn to be surprised. He pulled away experimentally but couldn't budge an inch. 

"Don't go," Johnny pleaded sweetly. He bent forward until their foreheads touched. "You got to kiss me, now it's my turn to kiss you."

"I don't think you quite understand the logistics of kissing," Hyuck shot back with a snort, but his eyes were still locked with Johnny's as he pulled away just far enough to show off his cheeky smirk. 

"Can I kiss you, or not?" he asked lowly, waiting for Hyuck's nod before leaning in. 

There wasn’t anyone watching (besides their boyfriend), so Donghyuck didn't feel too bad about opening up for Johnny and slotting their mouths together in a hot, candy apple, dessert wine kiss. He grinned when Johnny gave his lower lip a little nibble before pulling away, finally appearing satisfied. They were still grinning at each other dazedly when they were drawn back to reality by an amused Taeil,

"That's all well and good but like… Sarah's waiting on us if you recall. Can we maybe move the love fest back to the house?"

"Oooh a love fest, huh?" Hyuck teased over his shoulder, hands still resting over Johnny's chest. "Sounds good to me. Maybe you'll finally be willing to have sex with me at your place now that you don't have to worry about Johnny feeling left out~"

There were two near identical chokes and Hyuck laughed, delighted by his own power. He turned back to Johnny with a smirk. 

"Come on, big boy," he joked, patting his chest lightly before untangling himself from Johnny's arms. "We can't play if you don't take me home."

"Right! Right I- Yes. That's true," Johnny replied, flustered, still looking half out of it. Then he seemed to come back to himself with a look of determination. "Home! I'm driving. Where's the car? Not here - right. Where's Sarah? We need to get home!"

He grabbed Hyuck by the hand, taking off in the direction of the parking lot at an alarming pace. Hyuck merely laughed, snagging ahold of Taeil as they blew past. All anyone would see at that point, if they were watching, was a line of single-minded, laughing, complaining boys speeding off together into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who actually happens to be from Sac, they were brunching at Firestone Public House on the corner of L and 16th downtown, diagonal from the $2 all day parking structure. Fun fact.
> 
> God that was... pure self indulgence start to finish. I hope that like... their cuteness saved it for y'all. I feel the urge to apologize but I should stand by my work, right? Lol.
> 
> Let me know what you thought! I love these three together. I love johnhyuck soft for Taeil, Taeil chill - riding the vibe, and stubborn Hyuck!  
> Thanks for reading~  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/stephaech?s=09)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/smore13)


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